This week on the NBC Renew/Cancel, we finally take a look at NBC's final premiere of the season, Lopez vs Lopez, which kicked off season two on Tuesday. Keep reading to see my initial prediction for it. Plus, the NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness reaches the Final Four!
Certain Cancellation:
N/A
Leans Cancellation:
Lopez vs Lopez (0.28, 0.26-0.29)
Leans Renewal:
Extended Family (0.28, 0.22-0.71)
Law & Order: Organized Crime (0.37, 0.27-0.46)
Likely Renewal:
Night Court (0.33, 0.28-0.46)
Certain Renewal:
Saturday Night Live (0.72, 0.60-0.96)
Already Canceled/Final Season:
La Brea (0.19, 0.17-0.21)
Magnum PI (0.26, 0.21-0.32)
Already Renewed:
Chicago Fire (0.54, 0.47-0.63)
Chicago Med (0.53, 0.47-0.62)
Chicago PD (0.51, 0.46-0.57)
Found (0.31, 0.25-0.40)
The Irrational (0.27, 0.19-0.34)
Law & Order (0.42, 0.37-0.48)
Law & Order: SVU (0.51, 0.35-0.62)
Lopez vs Lopez: After eleven months off the air, Lopez vs Lopez returned this week with two new episodes. It was the first of five weeks it'll be on the air this season, with double-pumped episodes for its entire run. Its ratings weren't much different than the previous occupants of the 8 PM hour, Night Court and Extended Family, but the way NBC has treated it as an afterthought makes me think its renewal odds are much weaker than the odds of those shows. First, being pushed all the way to an April premiere is a worrisome sign, even in a TV season where most shows didn't return until February. NBC chose to air both Night Court and Extended Family in the higher-viewed winter months, and gave them post-NFL previews, which signifies to me, at least, that Lopez vs Lopez is their lowest priority among the comedies. As I expect both of those shows to return, that's two comedy slots already taken. I expect NBC to order Reba McEntire's new comedy pilot, and St. Denis Medical has already been ordered to series. That four comedies. While NBC has had an odd number of comedies the last few seasons, that worked out well for them last season due to Lopez's extended first season (which allowed Young Rock and Grand Crew to share a slot), and it clearly wasn't their intention to only have three shows this season. I expect only four comedies on NBC's lineup next season, which will leave Lopez vs Lopez out in the cold. Another sign pointing towards its cancellation? NBC cut its order for season two, from thirteen episodes to ten. While it would have been hard for them to air an odd number of episodes with this current doubled-up airing schedule, it's still very rare to see a show earn renewal after having its order cut, especially when that cut was not caused by the strike (unlike the Chicago and two Law & Order shows being cut from twenty-two to thirteen episodes). All in all, while its ratings look pretty renewable, it's still not a ratings standout, and NBC seems to think of it as an afterthought. It LEANS CANCELLATION, though that is a more favorable prediction than I was expecting to give it before its premiere ratings came in.
NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness continues!
For the past week, readers have been voting in the Elite Eight round of our first annual NBC Renew/Cancel March Madness. It was a week of tight competition, but four winners have emerged. In the first match, between NBC's highest-rated show, Saturday Night Live, and freshman drama Found, Found has pulled off another comeback, getting an end-week boost that pushed the show ahead of SNL after trailing it for days. For the second week in a row, Found was the winner of the poll with the lowest voter turnout. The second match featured the longest-running scripted drama of all-time, Law & Order: SVU, against fellow Dick Wolf franchise drama Chicago PD. In this instance of Wolf-on-Wolf violence, SVU was the easy victor, again drawing the most votes of any show in this round. The tightest matchup was between canceled sci-fi drama La Brea and SVU spinoff Law & Order: Organized Crime. Organized Crime took the win there, overcoming a mid-week resurgence by La Brea and notching a win by a single vote. And, in the fourth matchup, the Law & Order franchise saw its first defeat of the tournament, as CBS-turned-NBC detective drama Magnum PI triumphed over the OG Law & Order. Now, it's on to the Final Four, with the winners of these two polls facing up in the championship game! You can also vote in the ABC March Madness here, the Fox March Madness here, and the CBS March Madness here.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments!
